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J.P. Morgan, with egg on its face, cancels Twitter Q-and-A session

Social media is about interacting with people, but it’s also about occasionally sticking a finger in the air and seeing which way the wind is blowing.

JPMorgan Chase doesn’t seem to have done that prior to announcing a Twitter Q-and-A session with one of its top deal makers, Jimmy Lee. J.P. Morgan was an underwriter for Twitter’s initial public offering last week, and the banking giant seemed to be trying to seize the moment. J.P. Morgan teased the session, which would have been Thursday afternoon and used the hashtag #AskJPM, for a week.

What career advice would you ask a leading exec at a global firm? Tweet a Q using #AskJPM. On 11/14 a $JPM leader takes over @JPMorgan

The New York Times interviewed “a person briefed on the matter,” who said the intent of the Q-and-A was for Lee to offer career advice to students. Twitter being Twitter, however, students weren’t the only ones to chime in.

According to The Telegraph, two-thirds of the 80,000 tweets directed at J.P. Morgan were negative. Topics included the so-called London Whale, foreclosures, and general avarice. So Wednesday evening, almost a full day before the Q-and-A was set to happen, the firm axed it.